Claims that Ontario Place construction will send heaps of raw sewage into Lake Ontario are unfounded, the Ministry of Tourism responded on Wednesday after a group that opposes the plan accused the Ford government of flushing public health concerns.

Ontario Place for All held a morning news conference, accusing the province of skirting public consultation and putting the public’s health at risk with its Therme spa plan for the site.

The grassroots group claims construction work that is currently underway on the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) system across from Ontario Place “has capacity to allow raw sewage to be discharged into the water along the lakeshore where the public regularly swims, paddles, and gathers.”

Furthermore it takes issue with the Ford government’s moves to withdraw its Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) posting and pass Bill 5, legislation, “which removes the requirement for public consultation on this type of infrastructure work going forward.”

“This is a shocking abuse of power,” said Spadina-Fort York MPP Chris Glover. “The Ford government changed the law so they wouldn’t have to listen to the public, and now they’re moving ahead with construction that puts raw sewage right where people interact with the water.

“Families deserve clean, safe beaches — not sewage dumps to support a $2.2 billion taxpayer-funded foreign mega-spa at Ontario Place.”

The Ministry of Tourism was quick to respond, saying sewage overflow is the city’s responsibility and has nothing to do with the Ontario Place work.

“The Combined Sewer Overflow pipe is municipal infrastructure designed to act as a relief valve during storm events to prevent sewer overloads, which could lead to flooding of properties, public spaces or even the sewage treatment plants,” the ministry wrote.

“These systems have been in place for many years across the city and operate independently from the Ontario Place redevelopment project.

“Any sewage overflow is unrelated to the construction work at Ontario Place.”

The minister’s office added that work is underway that will actually improve water quality for swimmers and paddlers.

“Interim work is underway towards realigning the combined sewer overflow system. When complete, the improved system will move discharge, in the event of overflows, further away from areas of public use.”

Ontario Place for All, however, wants the Ford government to immediately halt CSO construction, restore public consultation, and cancel the deal with Therme at Ontario Place.

Controversy surrounds Ontario Place plan

Sewage concerns aren’t the first stench associated with the province’s ambitious, but often criticized plans for Ontario Place.

Last December Ontario’s Auditor General (AG) released a scathing audit of the Ford government’s redevelopment efforts, uncovering that the province’s costs have increased by $1.8 billion since the call for action was issued in 2019.

All told, Auditor General Shelley Spence’s report also found that the Ontario Place redevelopment efforts could cost taxpayers $2.2 billion.

A City of Toronto report also found the redevelopment would make traffic congestion worse.

A New York Times investigation, meanwhile, found that Austrian-based luxury spa company Therme “misrepresented” itself and misled the province of Ontario in order to secure a lucrative, nearly century-long deal in Toronto — a claim the company calls “inaccurate.”

Despite those troubling headlines, the province has long stressed that the project will create 5,000 jobs in the construction and tourism sectors and boost economic growth across Toronto and the region.